ALBUM REVIEW: Botanist, "Photosynthesis"

By: Josh McIntyre

 

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 30/10/2020

Label: The Flenser

 

“Photosynthesis” track listing:

 

1). Light

2). Water

3). Chrorophyll

4). Dehydration

5). Bacteria

6). Stroma

7). Palisade

8). Oxygen

 

The Review:

 

A degree of antihumanism, both philosophically and literally, has flown through the veins of black metal since its founding. As the shock-value aspects (ie anti-Christendom, actual murder) withered away over time due to oversaturation, more bands sought to position their interests beyond the anthropocentrism of certain reactionary artists and more aligned with environmentalist romanticism. This has been especially true within the American/Cascadian scene. References to landscapes and preservation grow in prominence over more traditional and human ideas such as mythology.

 

Botanist lies at the end of this polarity. All remnants of human experience are removed in favor of our chlorophyll-filled friends. Biosphere over anthrosphere. As silly as this may appear on paper it makes sense as a reaction to black metal culture, taking the ideas from bands like Wolves in the Throne Room to their radical end points. We all know the rumor about Ulver recording in a forest. Well, Botanist is the forest. And of course ideology is meaningless without praxis. Botanist’s push beyond black metal (while staying within the subgenre’s core elements) features the replacement of guitars with hammered dulcimers, a stringed instrument that is struck with mallets. Again, this may sound silly at first mention but it creates a feeling of melodicism and atmosphere not too distant from other experimentalist extreme metal artists such those already mentioned. This is achieved while also giving the project a unique quality.

 

“Photosynthesis” is the culmination of Botanist’s journey after a decade. While Botanist has sought to become-plant it has also been slowly becoming-Botanist through a series of releases, usually through Flenser, one of the prime exporters of challenging and experimental artists today. Botanist has made a name for itself as such a project but past outputs, while generally great, have differed in both musical quality and production value. “Photosynthesis”is the first time tracks bring me pure pleasantness without the occasional distraction of “wow this is really weird.” This album achieves Botanist at a high point, a coalescence of uniqueness and togetherness within the post-black metal world. Botanist is still weird, yes, but it no longer sounds as if that has been a goal in itself.

 

It is really amazing how great the often-piano-like dirges of hammer dulcimers flow over the more familiar sounds of aggressive drums and distorted bass. The singing vocals carry weight and sensitivity, like a mysterious choir heard underneath the canopy during a nightly hike, while the shrill screaming is more like a forceful declaration of both a desire and a right to life. It is the language and refrain of the vegetation around you, the human outsider, simply existing because it can.

 

We are brought beyond civilization, beyond human. We explore that which is often cast aside by our anthropocentric attitudes, especially in Western culture. There is more to life than 46 chromosomes and skin. To better understand ourselves we must occasionally cast aside our humanity.  Botanist holds its hands out to invite us to higher thinking, to connectivity with that which we have segregated ourselves from.

 

“Photosynthesis” is available HERE

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

REVIEW: Hundred Year Old Man - "Rei" [EP]

By: Jay Hampshire

Album Type: EP

Date Released: 26/01/2018

Label: Gizeh Records

For fans of expansive, unhurried post-metal that explores both softness and bleakness, Hundred Year Old Man serve up a three track taster that will whet the appetite.  This is an atmospheric and well executed record that will have fans hungry for their debut full-length to come later this year.

“Rei” LP/DD track listing

1). Sun & Moon (6:26)

2). A Year In The North Sea (2:34)

3). Rei (9:00)

The Review:

Some people would scoff at the idea of ordering an appetiser as a standalone meal. Surely a starter can only ever act as a warm up for a larger dish, something to take the edge off a yawning hunger before fully satiating it with the main course. For some, Leeds based post-metal sextet Hundred Year Old Man have provided just this with their three track ‘Rei’ EP. But for the more discerning audio gourmand, ‘Rei’ can be fully digested and appreciated as a stand-alone release.

Opener ‘Sun & Moon’ begins slowly, distant guitar fading in like an intensifying ethereal wind as samples echo and shimmer. Densely reverbed drums begin a slow, stately report as droning chords grind in like stone moving on stone. The wearied pace continues as Paul Broughton’s crowing vocals erupt, before the track fades into mere guitar motes and sibilant cymbals. Reigned back in by a plodding bass undertow, things bloom out into a thick haze of instrumentation, smooth as silk.

‘A Year In The North Sea’ is a caesura of sorts, a building wall of noise and sumptuous choral vocals that warp and twist, buffeted by rising guitar feedback and distant shrieks, ending in a thicket of birdcall based noise.

The title track itself jams in with tolling, brooding bass and lances of guitar, expanding to fill a vast space, winding and lurching towards a heavy, doom centric riff. They slowly revolve around this theme, instruments dropping in and out, vocals echoing into the distance, building dread before the track ends abruptly, forming into a screeching noise scape and then a creaking synth loop.

For fans of expansive, unhurried post-metal that explores both softness and bleakness, Hundred Year Old Man serve up a three track taster that will whet the appetite. Despite a slightly ropey mix leaving ‘Sun & Moon’ a little too vocal heavy and that shuns the traditional heavy/light dynamics integral to true post metal effectiveness in favour of embracing sprawling expanse, this is an atmospheric and well executed record that will have fans hungry for their debut full-length to come later this year.

“Rei” is available here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Lotus Thief - “Gramarye”

By: Richard Maw

Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 16/09/2016
Label: Prophecy Productions

“Gramarye” is a step up from the band's last album and is a fine and entertaining listen, the songs are still long and wandering pieces of music; there is light and shade, heaviness and an epic quality here.  “The Book of Lies” is a fine example of the record's ambience with the ethereal vocals mixing with moments of weight and levity. The darker material, such as “Salem”, is delivered convincingly and with the appropriate sense of mournfulness.  Whether you’re listening to the album on headphones or on in the background, this is a record to enjoy.

‘Gramarye’ CD//DD//LP track listing:

1. The Book of The Dead
2. Circe
3. The Book Of Lies
4. Salem
5. Idisi

The Review:

Lotus Thief are back after creating a buzz with their 2014 full length. The songs are still long and wandering pieces of music; there is light and shade, heaviness and an epic quality here. The airy sound and swirling keyboard sounds are still present and the band is very much within the psychedelic sphere of doom.

“The Book of The Dead” shows the band's attributes to the fullest- if you don't like this track, then the album is not for you. However, for those that do... it will take you on a trip. The lush acoustics and slow build of “Circe" offer an excellent listening experience, with unusual production and mixing tricks. The vast majority of tracks here are 8-9mins long, so referring to them as songs is perhaps a stretch- they are pieces of music to savour and let wash over you.

“The Book of Lies” is a fine example of the record's ambience with the ethereal vocals mixing with moments of weight and levity. The darker material, such as “Salem”, is delivered convincingly and with the appropriate sense of mournfulness. The material is never leaden, though- it always possesses a lightness of touch.

The album closer, “Idisi”, at over nine minutes in length, finds the band rocking out, mellowing out and spreading their wings again. “Gramarye” is a step up from the band's last album and is a fine and entertaining listen; on headphones or on in the background, this is a record to enjoy.

‘Gramaraye’ is available here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

REVIEW: Xgraador - "Bellows" (EP)

By: Chris Bull

Album Type: EP
Date Released: 02/06/2016
Label: Independent

“Bellows” DD track listing:

1). Bury

2). Oath

3). Possession

4). Morte

The Review:

It's always a pleasure here at Sludgelord HQ when we receive something unknown or unheard. This demo/EP from XGRAADOR, with 4 tracks of noisy, blackened doom coming straight outta left field, is right up my alley. 

The opening track 'Bury' is pure Abruptum esque black noise. It's unsettling and uneasy and gives you a glimpse of what is about to unfold.  'Oath' is like a lofi Thrones, if Joe Preston listened to nothing but Sabbath and Lizzy. The vocals sound terrifying. Not Michael Myers, serial killer terrifying but abandoned fairground Carousel music terrifying.

'Possession' crackles and screeches into existence as feedback builds and the beat of a single drum steadies the pace. The track reminds me of David Bowie's industrial era album for some reason...a compliment if ever there was one! 'Morte' the closing track is the most melancholy of the 4 offered here, the slightly distorted chorus of voices eerily wailing (quietly) over the rumbling guitars. If anyone reading this is remembers Die Sonne Satan's 'Dismal Chant', you may get the comparison.

If you're a fan of the weird and wonderful, you'd be a fool to not at least give this a try. If this is a one off project, then it's a fitting requiem for the short shelf life of human existence. If XGRAADOR do make another album, it'll undoubtedly be excellent.

“Bellows” is available here

Band info: facebook

IIVII - "Colony" (Album Review)

By: Mike Wilcox

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 04/09/2015

Label: Consouling Sounds

With an ambient soundscape complimented with well groomed synthesizer sounds, by the albums’s climax you wonder if you’re actually listening to Tangerine Dream. You can so easily get lost in the world and realms created by IIVII, but if you take to it with good intention and an open mind it just might open up a door that you didn’t know was there…

‘Colony’ CD//DD//LP track listing:

1. Signals From Home

2. Colliding Horizons

3. Transmissions Illumine I

4. Transmissions Illumine II

5. Black Galaxy

6. On The Shores Of Markarian 335

7. Shaping Itself From Dust

The Review:

When I came upon the project that is IIVII and their latest release, “Colony”, upon reading the bio posted on bandcamp I was kind of at a loss to what to expect.  It’s established that I can talk about early electronic and all of that but I don’t frequently find that crossing paths with metal.  The solo project of long time Neurot friend and jack of all trades Josh Graham seems to bridge that gap.  Looking at Graham’s previous collaborations with the likes of Tombs and Jarboe among others, and his founding background in Red Sparrowes and Battle of Mice, you know that you can expect some sort of Neurosis family vibe.  It’s that thrum you clicked with when you listened to Drowning Horse but this however is a altogether different beast.

“Signals From Home” starts your journey through the ether, a word that comes to mind constantly when listening to this album.  With an ambient soundscape complimented with well groomed synthesizer sounds, by the song’s climax you wonder if you’re actually listening to Tangerine Dream.  “Colliding Horizons” creates shadows on the sound-space in such a way that I felt like I had dropped acid.  There isn’t really a better way to say that.  Following into the next tracks, “Transmitions Illumine I” through “On the Shores of Markarian 335”, you are taken through an astral journey, the whole time feeling like you are breathing ether…  With elements of Trance and similar electronic styles you are shaped and moulded as you float through the universe that IIVII has created for you.

“Shaping Itself from Dust” takes the album out well, maintaining your trip while slowly dissolving around you until you eventually realize that there is no more track, no more album.  It’s over.  You’re back.  You can so easily get lost in the world and realms created by IIVII, but if you take to it with good intention and an open mind it just might open up a door that you didn’t know was there…

  

‘Colony’ is available here

Band info: official | facebook

Om - 'Advaitic Songs' (Album Review)

Written by: John Slaymaker

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 24/7/2012

Label: Drag City 

 

This is an awesome record and I love the chanting mantra’s and general eastern feel, but as usual the Bass tone is very well presented.

‘Advaitic Songs’ CD//DD//LP track Listing

1). Addis (5:35)

2). State of Non-Return (6:09)

3). Gethsemane (10:28)

4). Sinai (10:22)  

5). Haqq al-Yaqin (11:25)

Om is:

Emil Amos | Drums

Al Cisneros | Bass, Vocals

Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe | Vocals, Keyboards, Percussion

The Review

‘Addis’ has a wonderful introduction with a female vocal chanting and singing an ancient Indian Sanskrit, a tambourine  keeps the beat as cello and bass wander in and out with these fabulous vocals, provided by Kate Ramsey.

That was definitely a great opening track with a cool sweet eastern vibe.    ‘State of Non-Return’ starts with Al Cisneros providing a nice grooving bass line, fat as fuck and heavy and low. Violin and Cello make for a nice bridge, but I can’t get over how well the bass and vocals mix together, when the verse comes back in. It ends with a quieter interlude with piano and strings and I get looking at the artwork, a well drawn holy image. I think its John the Baptist? Holding his hands out, as if he is about to receive a toke on a big fat joint.  By the way, the name Om is taken from the Hindu syllable known as the vibration of the universe, often used as a mantra (a rhythmic ritual word that Hindus use and repeat for a long time when getting in trance mental states).

‘Gethsemane’ the third song and chalking up at over ten minutes, continues with the holy theme where ‘Gethsemane’ (a garden at the foot of the mount of olives in Jerusalem) and famous as, according to gospels, Jesus and his crew are said to have prayed the night before his crucifixion. I think this is where Robert A.A. Lowe comes in with the Tambura, making for some nice good rhythms with great drumming, good mix.  ‘Sinai’ another ten minutes plus song, and I'm thinking this is not as quite as heavy as Om's previous records but we all  know you don’t need to be down tuned and overdriven to be ‘Heavy’. This is an awesome record and I love the chanting mantra’s and general eastern feel, but as usual the Bass tone is very well presented.

‘Haqq al-Yaqin’ is complemented with Robert Lowe on the tabla’s, and wonderful cello and violins, which make for a wicked groove and forgive me for even trying to imagine those from The Mighty Boosh doing some kind of formulated dance. This is a great closer for the album, clocking up at an impressive eleven and a half minutes.  The acoustic guitars, not sure who’s playing them but they are sweetly accompanied with pretty much all the other instruments featured on this album. What a cool vibe Om have got going on and for that reason this is a must hear album.  Brilliant stuff.

Advaitic Songs’ is available here

Band info: Facebook

Rise Above Dead - 'Stellar Filth' (Album Review)

 By: Aaron Pickford

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 26/6/2012

Label: Shove Records,

Monument of Collapse Records,

Forever True Records

‘The album is a superb juxtaposition of brutality and ambience.  It is ruthless and unrelenting, then mind altering and psychedelic.  It leaves you with feelings of extreme euphoria, and seemingly having had a distorted sensory experience.  The album is a hallucinogenic aural assault.’

‘Stellar Filth’ DD//LP track Listing

1). Hide and Weep (8:40)

2). No Land Towards The Sea (5:32)

3). Bury Them In Dust (7:14)

4). Stellar Filth (6:40)

5). Light Release (7:26)

6). End Of A Kingdom (6:30)

7). A Thousand Thorns (5:55)

Rise Above Dead is

Stefano Bigoni | Guitars

Matteo Sala | Guitars

Diego Leone | Bass

Andrea  Rondanini | Vocals

Luca Riommi | Drums

The Review:

I first became aware of this band, after their guitarist Matteo Sala contacted me via facebook asking if I would be interested in reviewing their new album, ‘Stellar Filth.’ Matteo described his band as a mix of sludge/post metal and psychedelia, for fans of Neurosis, Cult of Luna and Amenra.  So, what do I make of this album, following those comparisons?  Well, the name of the album is ‘Stellar Filth’ and it couldn’t be a more appropriate title, because this record is just that, Stellar Filth!  It sounds outstanding! Immense!  Or whatever adjective you wish to use.  What’s more it is obscenely heavy with grimy riffs and a hint of interstellar ambience. 

We kick things off with ‘Hide and Weep’ and Rise Above Dead set the tone for this album beautifully.  What we have is a monumental slab of Post metal dirge; it is a fantastic mixture of thinking man’s metal, demonstrating the band’s ability to flex their muscle with weighty riffs, harsh vocals and atmospherics.  The album is a superb juxtaposition of brutality and ambience.  It is ruthless and unrelenting, then mind altering and psychedelic.  It leaves you with feelings of extreme euphoria, and seemingly having had a distorted sensory experience.  The album is a hallucinogenic aural assault. 

The album continues in a similar vein throughout, slow clean guitars only to be superseded by colossal sludgy riffs, the magnitude of which is truly exceptional. The band is note perfect throughout, with smatterings of bass, ambience, intricate drum fills and a continuous onslaught of bass heavy guitar artillery, monolithic in proportion and rendering the listener speechless.  Album highlights such as ‘Bury Them In Dust’ and ‘Stellar Filth’, owe much to the sound of Neurosis as it does to Yob, such is the devastation of noise which ensues, these tracks in particular are just massive!  Sonically the album leaves you feeling overwhelmed and lays waste to all that stands in its path.  This album is caustic in the most effective way possible and yet another must have album for 2012. 

‘Stellar Filth’ is available here

 

 

 

Band info: Official | Facebook | Shop | Youtube